I’m not a fan of using someone’s first name in an email subject line … though it can be effective.
I’m also not someone who likes the use of symbols in email subject lines … though sometimes “gimmicky” tactics work.
However, for some reason, this email from Angie’s list – one that included a heart symbol AND my first name in the subject line – was one that I opened immediately.
Subject Line: ♥ Share the Angie’s List love, Dj!
5 Things I Loved About This Angie’s List Email
Subject line aside (though it did work), there were many things I loved about this email from Angie’s List. Taking it from the top …
- Simple, clean, not-too-big header: As Greg from Bronto suggests, it’s possible that headers may negatively impact conversions. While I have not seen any hard data to back up that claim, I think Greg makes a good case. The header in this email is the same as the one on the Angie’s List website and it does not take up too much space. Nice.
- Clear “contact us” messaging at top: While they could have done a better job of answering the “Why should I follow you!?” question, they get points for including it. Bonus points for adding a phone number. I’m guessing they do a lot of business via phone. And they also linked up to their contact page. Well done.
- Consistency from the subject line to the main call to action: As mentioned above, the subject line of this email was, ♥ Share the Angie’s List love, Dj!. Check out the first line of this email: We ♥ Big Mouths. Consistent! I love that there is even a picture of Angie with those big (fake) lips … sending a kiss to all of her email subscribers.
- Short, direct intro: Angie’s List did not waste a lot of words explaining what this email was all about. Even with a quick skim, I knew what to do.
- (3) Easy ways to spread “share the Angie’s List love”: Not 1. Not 2. But 3 – yes 3 – easy ways to share the love. Personalized e-invitation. Copy-and-paste. Old school, tell a friend when you see them.
Here is what happens when you click the “click to sign in” (option #1) … and then sign in:
What I love about this approach is that Angie’s List takes care of the heavy lifting. The more effort it takes to “share the love,” the less likely someone is to take action. They include the subject line (though I don’t love it) and a pre-filled out email (though I’d probably customize it slightly). As a bonus, they give away candy (tootsie rolls or tootsie pops) if a friend signs up. Nothing crazy, but unique enough to catch my attention.
The one issue I have with “invite a friend” pages like this one is that I have to actually recall my friends’ email addresses. Who remembers that stuff? Isn’t that what Gmail/Yahoo/AOL/Live is for? Heck, I don’t even know my own wife’s phone number and I call her multiple times per day.
If you click “Invite friends on Twitter,” a pre-populated tweet – like the one below – opens in a new tab.
Again. Angie’s List does the work so I don’t have to! Smart.
The only thing I’d tweak about this email is to change option 2 from “Copy-and-paste” to “Share with Your Community.” Then, I’d add Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn icons and auto-populate those networks (like the Twitter one above) when someone clicks.
What do you think about this email from Angie’s List? Love? Hate? Meh? What suggestions – if any – would you have for them?
DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
P.S. Have you heard the news? Nick Westergaard and I have started a weekly podcast called The Work Talk Show, where we interview crazy-smart folks about how work gets done. Give the latest episode a listen!
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5 Things I Love About This Email From Angie’s List was originally authored by Waldow Social.
